 If you have young kids, they are not protected unless you have a will and you have a living trust. Why do you need both? That's because each one does a different job in protecting your children. The will is where you name guardians for your children. The people that you select that you know will care for your children in the way you would. The trust spells out where the money is used to raise those children. In other words, two separate functions. One, who watches the children. Two is how is the money spent on the children? The guardians and the trustees can be the same people. So you could say, I have a trusted sister and I'd also like her to be the guardian. You know the qualities of the individuals that you want to choose. Is there one that handles finances better? Is there one that gives living care better? Maybe it's the same people. But again, the choice is yours. But you're not protected unless it's spelled out in a living trust-centered estate plan.